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This edition features 10 pages on the most popular culinary herbs - how to grow them and how to cook with them. There's advice on what you should be doing in the vegie garden in early summer. Read about Rhubarb Revisited, Brewing Compost Tea, Sumptuous Sweet Potatoes, Biodynamic Gardening, Fabulous Feijoas, Walnuts for Cracking Good Health, Longans - 'Dragons Eye' Fruit, Feng Shui in the Garden, Home-Grown Organic Coffee and Food for Thought – a look at Australia’s future food security. Plus all the regular features.
For more information visit our website at www.warmearth.com.au
Vaccine hope in MS (multiple sclerosis) link to virus
THE debilitating disease multiple sclerosis, which affects more than 18,000 Australians, could be prevented with a vaccine being trialled in Europe.
Researchers from the University of Queensland yesterday confirmed a link between the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever and is carried by more than 90 per cent of the world's population, and multiple sclerosis, saying the vaccine, developed to combat glandular fever, could save thousands of lives... more... http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/vaccine-hope-for-ms-sufferers/2008/11/19/1226770542455.html?sssdmh=dm16.346574
A vitamin found in meats, nuts, grains and cereals might be more effective than sunscreen in preventing skin cancer, new research has found. http://www.smh.com.au/news/specials/health/vitamin-better-than-sunscreen/2008/11/19/1226770501609.html
Research by Australian scientists has used a number of experiments involving sugar and water to prove the honey bee is capable of counting up to four.
Professor Mandyam Srinivasan, of the University of Queensland's (UQ) Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), led the research which found the bees learned how to "count" a number of significant landmarks on their way to a food source. The findings may provide a new breakthrough in the understanding of the insect's cognitive capabilities say the team.
"We began by asking whether bees can learn to ‘count' the number of landmarks that they encounter on the way to a food source," Professor Srinivasan said. "Individually marked bees were trained to receive a reward of sugar solution after they had flown past a specific number of regularly spaced yellow stripes during their flight through a narrow tunnel."
"Depending upon the experiment, this number was one, two, three or four."
"After training, the bees were individually tested by removing the food reward, and observing their searching behaviour in the tunnel to determine which landmark they had associated most strongly with the reward during the training," said Prof Srinivasan.
The study found that bees had the ability to count objects even when confronted with introduced random objects outside the bees' range of experience.
"Bees trained in this way are able to count novel objects, which they have never previously encountered," Professor Srinivasan said. "Our findings provide evidence that bees are capable of counting objects on the way to a food source."
"In all probability, this counting is performed sequentially, and required the ability to maintain a running tally of the number of events, incrementing the tally by one each time an event occurs."
Professor Srinivasan's research paper "Evidence for Counting Bees" appears in the journal Animal Cognition.
There are fears Chinese vegetables sold in Australia could be contaminated with melamine, the chemical which has poisoned more than 50,000 babies in China.
Australian food authorities are investigating reports of melamine contamination of vegetables and will complete a safety assessment.
Chinese products imported into Australia include fresh garlic and peas, frozen mixed vegetables, canned mushrooms and tomato paste.
The melamine scandal started in milk products, but international media reports have raised concerns some fruit and vegetables could also be contaminated with melamine from fertilisers or pesticides.
Candling Eggs for Beginners by Tamandco Farm Poultry Stud
I only have a very small incubator so find it useful to candle my eggs 3 times during a hatch in order to clear out non-viable eggs, to make space for another lot. I usually carry this out after 4 days, 1 week and 2 weeks. I use a small basic torch with good alkaline batteries, and hold the torch at the illuminated end, cupping my hand around so as to create a seal. I then hold the blunt end of the egg against the light and rotate it slowly to look for signs of development.
The torch is cupped in my left hand
These are the things I look for:
After 4 days: A network of blood vessels indicating the egg is fertilized and the embryo has started to develop.
Candled egg at 4 days showing blood vessels
or No network of blood vessels and a very faint blood ring indicating that the embryo has died within the early stages of development – Discard egg!
Candled egg showing blood ring
or A clear egg with the faint shadow of the yolk showing, indicating an unfertilized egg (as in the first photo) – Discard egg!
After 1 week: A network of blood vessels and small elongated dark mass on one side of the egg which remains at the bottom edge of the egg as it is rotated. Movement of the embryo can usually be seen at this stage – Good! or No network of blood vessels and a small elongated dark mass which doesn’t move, a blood ring and no movement indicating that the embryo started to develop, then died - Discard egg! or No network of blood vessels, no dark mass and a blood ring indicating that the embryo died in it’s very early stages – Discard egg!
After 2 weeks: The dark mass should fill a lot of the egg. Blood vessels should be noticeable where the embryo isn’t blocking the view and the air sack at the blunt end should have increased slightly in size. As the egg is rotated, movement should definitely be evident, however lack of movement alone should not determine the fate of the egg. or A markedly smaller elongated dark mass inadequate for the stage of gestation with no blood vessels and no movement evident, indicating the embryo died at some stage since last being candled. – Discard egg!
After 3 weeks: I only candle eggs if they fail to hatch within 24 hours of the first egg in the batch hatching. I first observe the egg for a while to see if there’s any sign of chirping or peeping. During candling I look for the correct size dark mass which should almost fill the egg apart from the air cell, correct size air cell and signs of movement. At this stage you can sometimes see the beak just protruding into the air cell. If it looks as it should, I will persevere for a bit longer before taking matters into my own hands. You should carry out your own research and ask for professional advice before resorting to opening an egg, especially if you can hear chirping or the egg has started peeping.
